Trivial
by SlayersFan132
Summary: Castlevania: Judgement. Aeon meets a mysterious being and is ordered to call five others to yet another time rift in order to...fix something? Who knows? When he goes missing, however, the other five are sent to search for him, and a whole new plot unfolds. Collaboration with Stargirl720's Opposite Ways.
1. Chapter 1

_"Move quickly, wanderer, for if not I fear those you call 'friends' shall suffer..."_

"What do you mean?" he asks, narrowing his eyes at the fog-shrouded being before him. He is not sure exactly what it is, or, for that matter, why it is here, but what he does know is that it just threatened all of his Chosen.

And, for him, threatening the Chosen is not a good thing to do.

_"...I cannot tell you...I was merely sent by my Master, from many years hence...I was instructed not to give you more information than is necessary."_

Yes, it appears that whoever this 'Master' is happens to be threatening those that the wanderer picked. But who, among them, was threatened?

_"You may bring five of your thirteen, no more, wanderer...Your 'Chosen,' or whatever you refer to them as...Once you do so, I shall appear again to give you further instruction. But, until then, I bid you adieu."_

The shadowed form vanishes as though it never was, and the wanderer closes his eyes, trying to ward off the sickening feeling he senses in the pit of his stomach. Something is wrong - terribly so - and if he does not try to fix it, time itself will be utterly destroyed.

Of course, he cannot allow that, so he sets to work preparing the field upon which they shall reside.

~()~

"So you're saying that I actually have a choice in the matter?"

He had appeared before her just as she completed a mission assigned to her by the head priest. She had ridden the catacombs underneath an opera house of zombies and a number of other horrifying things. To her surprise, as she accepted her reward and headed outside, she ran into the man she had least expected to see. After all, she figured that her life would go back to normal upon her return to her era.

My, how horribly wrong she was...

"You do, in fact. If you do not wish to accompany me and four others on this quest, then I shall merely choose another. It is not anything too hard, really. Each of you are very talented. You are just among the best. And, secondly, I did not wish to bring Dracula into this, so he has been left out," the man answers. "That is to say, I have convinced someone I know to put he and his followers in a dormant state for the time being."

She smirks, and a breath of laughter escapes her lips. "If I do not agree, will you ever bother me again?"

"Perhaps I shall."

"If that is the case, I will accept. You can only ask so much of me without giving anything in return."

"Clever girl. Let us be on our way, then."

~()~

Much the same happens at the wanderer's next stop, although with much more annoyance induced upon him.

"What do you mean, quest? All I want to do is settle down! Dracula has been defeated here, so there's nothing more I have to do!"

He forces a nonchalant laugh. "You do not have to come if you do not wish it, but you are simply among the best of the thirteen I had previously chosen. You, likewise, will be with the others I have chosen. Already I have recruited two, one without much difficulty and the other with a bit of a conflict. He was not very happy, but he agreed eventually."

"'He'? He, who?" the girl demands. An owl hoots, and she glares with blazing red eyes, curious but nearly enraged at the prospect of having to fight for him again.

"I believe it is the very same boy you fancied back when I first picked each of you."

A blush very much like her eyes suddenly colors her cheeks, and she sputters, "W-what do you mean?"

This isn't going very well. If he talks about the boy, there is little chance that she will agree. Perhaps if he had simply ignored her question she would have agreed straightaway. It's just a thing with girls that he doesn't understand. Why must they be so difficult?

Letting out a sigh, the wanderer refuses to answer and simply stares at her until her blush deepens and she grumbles, "Okay, okay, I'll go. Next time you won't be so lucky, though."

He chuckles, a bemused look on his face as he prods her and says, "That rhymed."

"Shut up!" she growls as, together, they warp to whatever destination he has in mind.

~()~

The wanderer has only one more stop now. While picking up the other four, he has decided to leave this one for last. This, indeed, should be the most challenging. The man he means to ask is clever and forethoughtful; he thinks of everything before rather than as it is happening, much like the wanderer himself. This is the very reason the wanderer has decided to talk to everyone else before him, for practice, perhaps.

The moment he materializes on the physical plane, the wanderer is nearly decapitated cleanly by a silvery sword with a golden hilt. But, luckily, the man he is visiting has keen senses and stops just before any blood is spilt, which is ironic considering who he is talking to.

"What are you doing here?"

The wanderer only gives him a smirk, pushing the sword easily away from his throat. He clears said throat as he prepares for the long conversation he will undoubtedly have.

"Yes, well...I have come with a request."

~()~

Alucard plays around with his sword, drowning in boredom. He has been waiting for nearly an hour now. Aeon still has not returned with whoever the other four are.

He is leaning back on a long wooden bench, with one leg propped up over the arm and the other crossed over it. The blade of his sword has scored the ground at least three times now, given his utter and complete boredom. Aeon has left him with absolutely nothing to do except fiddle with whatever he has on hand, or count the panels on the ceiling.

The entire room is decorated simply. A warm, merry fireplace burns across the room. In the very center sits an oak table, elegantly carved and golden plated in some parts. Everything is a deep, chocolaty brown, matching Alucard's mood perfectly.

There are six doors, evenly spaced across the room. Two sit on one side of the fireplace, two more on both sides of the bench Alucard has sat himself upon. The others gaze almost longingly at each other, separate across the room. Each of the doors are tall and made of the same type of wood used in the table, carved with swirling patterns that seem to represent personalities or something.

Alucard notices these patterns and stands from his seat, walking over to examine the door nearest him. A quiver of arrows, a spear, and two blades cross each other. From this, the dhampire can guess that Shanoa is one of the five chosen by Aeon.

He glances over at the one next to it, seeing owls and trees. Maria, possibly? The next one is drawn up of a moon eclipsing a sun, a long sword very similar to the one he currently holds, and a winged creature flying across the empty sky.

He decides it must be his and looks at the door to the right of the fireplace, facing the bench. An enormous clock and a moon, simply, mark this door. The one to the left of the fireplace is marked with a long spear, the very same spear that Alucard entrusted to the Lecarde family. Eric.

The final door is of another full moon with a wolf howling at it. Of course. Cornell was another of the best and most difficult to defeat. He remembers vaguely that the werewolf won only because time ran out and the battle was called to a halt.

He has settled back down on the bench, this time merely staring at the ceiling, when a quiet sigh announces that Aeon is back. The clack of boots on the wood echoes through his ears.

"I'm glad you're back," Alucard mutters softly, "but why did you leave me here and have to get the others from somewhere else? It was terribly boring."

"Aw, did our little dhampire get lonely?" Aeon teases with a grin.

Alucard's glare answers his question perfectly.

"I'm sorry; next time I'll leave you a teddy bear."

His glare intensifies, but then he notices that he was correct about all of the others. Shanoa, Maria, Eric, and Cornell stand beside the time traveler. Eric, hefting the enormous spear Alucard entrusted to his family, snickers slightly at Aeon's remark.

"Keep it up and you may not wake up tomorrow," Alucard growls before turning back to counting each individual panel of wood on the ceiling. So far, he's at sixty-two.

Aeon nods. "I trust that Alucard, having been here long enough, can show you to your rooms. I will be in mine." The wanderer snaps and disappears.

"Why couldn't he just walk?" Maria asks in bewilderment.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I am back with a new story. It, obviously, is Castlevania-based. Also, I am aware that the Castlevania: Judgement character appearances are not accurate and that the plot, overall, is not very good. I did, however, become aware of that after I had already begun this story, and since I and my sister, Stargirl720, are writing the story together-ish, I decided not to change it - and if you read her first chapter, then you know what's going to happen to Aeon, but oh, well. Anyway, I figured there was simply no point in changing the story, so Alucard now has silvery hair and blue eyes, not white-blonde hair and golden eyes. Anyway, if you have already read chapter one, go ahead onto chapter two.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alucard, Aeon, or Castlevania; Konami does. I do believe, however, that along the development of this story, they have become, in a way, mine, as your characters in your stories are also yours.**

**Trivial: Chapter Two.**

~()~

"Okay, so I've done what you told me to do," Aeon sighs. "Can you please tell me the rest of what your Master wants?"

The cloaked figure takes a moment to respond, choosing his words carefully. _"The Master tells me to deliver this to you...You must put it on tomorrow at precisely twelve fifty-nine and fifty-nine seconds..."_ A shadowy hand stretches out and hands Aeon a small, long box. He takes it, but keeps from opening it. _"You must not take it off unless instructed. You cannot tell your Chosen anything about this...and you must not reveal who you are to any of them, aside from one..."_

For the first time in his terribly long life, Aeon is confused. "What do you mean? They know who I am; what could possibly change me so that they would not recognize me?"

The being chuckles deeply. _"I understand...You prefer knowing everything. You shall be told every bit of valuable information tomorrow at midnight, when I deliver you to a different place...Here is all you should know. You should keep in mind that you may reveal the secret to one, and one only; if they do not keep that secret, both of you shall perish...They will all be delivered to separate corners of the same forest. You shall be in the center of it. Whoever finds you first will be the one you must tell, but you may choose your own time to tell them..."_

"But what must I tell them?"

_"You shall know tomorrow at the stroke of midnight. Farewell, time wanderer..."_

Aeon watches the being vanish from his bedroom with an utterly lost expression on his face. He doesn't recover for a long while - twenty-six minutes and eleven seconds, to be exact - but when he does he only gets up from his chair to lock his door. Then, sighing, he sets the box at the bedside table and gets into the bed, falling asleep immediately.

~()~

The next morning, Aeon wakes up with the conversation of last night plaguing his mind like a disease. He hates not knowing what will happen. Dimensional rifts make it difficult, if not impossible, to foresee anything predetermined by the outer forces. To Aeon, not knowing something important is like ramming headfirst into a wall: painful, pointless, and annoying.

Nevertheless, Aeon gets up and contemplates the box for a long while. He believes that a necklace is inside it, but why would he intentionally wear such a thing?

This whole objective seems confusing and pointless to him. Who, or what, are they trying to protect time from?

Sighing, he picks up the box and places it into a pocket, then picks up his enormous, thirteen-hour clock and stares at the time. The hands rest on the ninth hour and the seventeenth minute, first circle.

Aeon fears this may be the longest day of his life as he crosses the room and lays his hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath and focusing on hiding his true frustration. With this done, he opens the door and finds all of the others awake.

"It's nice of you to join us," Eric grumbles. He sets a short stack of metal forks on the table with a soft click. Maria rolls her eyes at him but still looks extremely cheerful as she pours simmering tea into everyone's mugs.

"Yes, Eric; yes it is, because he could have decided to ignore us all day and lock himself up in his room."

A thoughtful look crosses Aeon's face at Maria's words. True, that is an option...

Spotting his look, the blonde exclaims, "Not that you will, though, because now you're stuck with your decision!"

He forces a smirk onto his face, even though he sighs internally. Too late now, he presumes, to turn back around and shut himself away. Besides, it wouldn't look good on his general attitude, would it?

"Well, well. Good morning. I didn't expect to see all of you up and about until nine thirty." He gestures to his watch and holds it up to show them that they are functioning six minutes earlier than he expected.

Eric rolls his eyes as Shanoa brings, from the fireplace, an easy meal of buttered toast and sausage.

"I'm guessing you found the supply closet," Aeon comments, slipping into a seat at the edge of the table beside Cornell. The werewolf simply ignores him in favor of taking a bite out of his toast.

Shanoa remains emotionless as she replies, "Alucard found it, really. He says you left him here for almost two hours to die of boredom, and so he had to do something."

"Tricky hiding place, by the way," the dhampire says nonchalantly, picking up a fork and holding it delicately between three fingers, rolling a sausage back and forth across his plate. "I probably never would have found it if you hadn't given me an hour to do so."

"Actually, I gave you forty-three minutes," Aeon corrects him, feeling his gloomy mood begin to go away. The wanderer receives only a glare in return to his remark, which makes him feel even better.

Alucard mumbles something about a moronic time fanatic before turning his attention back to the sausage he continues to roll across the plate, not bothering to eat anything. Maria drowns hers in syrup and proceeds to treat them as though they are Dracula's servants, mauling them and ripping them apart with her fork before stuffing them into her mouth, unembarrassed. Aeon watches with a raised eyebrow as he eats his toast.

~()~

When they finish breakfast, the time wanderer is bombarded with questions (of which are mainly from Maria) consisting of things such as: where are we, why are we here, and what is going on this time?

Maria's final question is, "Why aren't you answering me?"

"In referring to your last question right now, technically, I am answering you," Aeon replies at long last, then turns to look over them, narrowing his eyes. "I believe I shall answer, perhaps, a few of your questions truthfully.

"As a first point, you are in a dimension I created for the use of the six of us while we are figuring out just what we are supposed to do."

Shanoa, with her head propped up on one hand, asks, "Okay, if you don't know everything about what we're supposed to do, what do you know?"

"What I do know is that this mission is vitally important to the being who assigned it to me. After that, not much. I only know of a few details that I am not able to share with you."

Most of them take this news rather calmly; even Maria doesn't seem to mind having just a few things withheld from her. Despite that, she doesn't realize how important that information is. Only Eric seems irritated, and he doesn't speak out about it. Perhaps the reason for this is that he doesn't want to appear as any more of a child than Maria, which would be quite pitiful considering she just tore her sausage apart like a two-year-old.

Aeon shoots a smirk at him before continuing to speak. "As for why you are here, I have specifically picked each of you, for you are the best out of the original thirteen. Along with that, you also have the most unique personalities...aside from Grant, of course...and are highly clever. There were many factors which will help in the time to come."

"Do you know how long we will be here?" Cornell asks.

"No, actually. I do not," Aeon answers honestly. "I do, however, have a guess. An estimate, to be exact. I had little time before opening this rift to check, but I looked forward in time. I believe we have little over a month. That amount could have changed in the time we have been here, but it must still be rather close to reality.

"And, before any of you say anything, it does not matter to me how long it takes as long as we are able to repair the rip in time. If not, I fear what will happen will be far more devastating than anything else. Time itself could be utterly destroyed. Nothing would be left; or, perhaps, everything would."

No one has to ask what he means. After all, he chose them for their wisdom, not an inability to understand.

Aeon offers them a halfhearted smile and stands from the table, stacking his dishes in the center of the table and inviting the others to do the same before heading back towards his room.

"You will get instructions on what to do after midnight. For now, farewell."

He disappears into his room with a snap and lays there on his bed for a while, listening to the soft ticking of his clock. When, at last, his eyelids grow heavy, he sighs in relief and falls asleep.

~()~

"Aeon...?"

He stills as much as he can and holds his breath, hoping the child will fall for it.

"A-Aeon...? Are you awake?"

He tries as hard as he can not to laugh, or even smile. Maria opened his door and came in not long ago, asking a question, but, upon finding him 'asleep' she started this.

Blonde hair brushes his nose and he resists an urge to sneeze, waiting for her to freak out.

"Oh my gods!" she whispers fearfully.

Through his partially opened eyes, Aeon sees her open her mouth, probably to yell someone's name, but at the last moment he slips behind her, covers her mouth, and murmurs creepily, "Why, hello, Maria. What business do you have here?"

He gets the expected reaction when he pulls away his hand. She screams and slaps him across the face as hard as she possibly can, sending him tumbling to the floor, rubbing his cheek.

"Ouch. Did I really deserve that?" he whines, knowing the answer perfectly well. Eric appears in the door, followed shortly by Alucard and Shanoa.

"Of course you did! You're not supposed to scare people like that. I thought you were actually dead!" she wails, slapping him again when he gets up. She then clings to his arm with tears forming in her eyes. "Never...ever...do that again. Got it?"

Shocked, Aeon blinks for a few moments before giving her a fond smile, rustling her blonde hair and saying, "Sorry, Maria. I won't do it again."

He realizes that something like this must have happened to someone she knew and feels even more guilty. He shoots a glance upwards and catches a glint of sympathy and sorrow in Alucard's eye.

"Did something happen here?" Eric asks, narrowing his eyes. Aeon shakes his head and rests his hand at Maria's back, patting her twice to guide her out of the room.

"No, it was nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

He shuts the door on them and turns to look at his clock, realizing that he slept through the day. It's already past twelve at night. He takes a deep breath and wonders if he will have to prepare anything. Obviously, he will need whatever is in the box. He pulls it out of his pocket and sets it down on the table in the center of his quaint little room. He then stores some food in a small dimensional pocket that he uses on occasion when he needs things, which also keeps it from aging.

After preparing the necessary things, as well as folding a cloak and slipping it into the very same dimensional pocket, he sits down at the edge of his bed and leans back on it, staring at the ceiling.

What will happen at midnight?

It's a thought that has constantly bothered him, even in his dreams. He just can't get past it. What is supposed to happen at midnight?

Apparently, he doesn't have to wait long. The third hand ticks farther and farther around his clock. He opens the box and notices that it is, in fact, a necklace - a silver chain with a crescent moon charm, much like the marking on his door. How convenient.

He takes a deep breath and unclasps the chain, waiting...and waiting...

The clock seems to slow down farther the more he stares at it. When, at last, it reaches fifty-nine, he clasps it around his neck and everything immediately flashes a brilliant white. He barely has time to grab his clock before the ground underneath him suddenly meets his face and then disappears.

And, suddenly, he feels a searing pain completely enveloping him, like drowning in fire. Aeon finds himself unable to breathe. Then the cloaked figure appears. His apparent eyes, glowing a deep, navy blue without pupils, appear to soften for a moment. A shadowy hand reaches out and presses gently to his chest. The searing pain goes away, replaced by a dull ache, and Aeon slips back into unconsciousness, not caring that now, instead of being in a warm, cozy bedroom, he is laying in a cold, wet forest.

~()~

**A/N: There's the second chapter...I have most of this story written out now, which means updates will be a lot more frequent than my other stories' are. Thank you for reading. Please leave a review in the box below.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry for the slow updates. My father says that my typing skills are spider-ish. Anyway, I shall not keep you any longer from this new chapter. I hope you enjoy the story so far. Please leave a review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Aeon, Alucard, or Castlevania; Konami does. So, you can no longer sue me. Well, I guess you still can, but please don't. Thank you. And just so you know, I love French, so this next part will be in French.**

**Trivial, chapitre trois.**

~()~

Alucard hears a heavy thump over in Aeon's room and hurries over to open the door, fearing the worst.

He doesn't see anything, but that only worries him more.

"Guys," he calls, "get over here."

Cornell immediately appears at his side, followed by Maria, Eric, and then Shanoa. "What is it?" the werewolf asks with a slight growl. Maria merely rubs her eyes. Eric yawns, leaning on his spear.

"Do you see a time traveler in here, Eric?" the dhampire asks bluntly with a 'DUH!' look on his face.

"Umm...no," the boy mumbles sleepily. "Why did you get us up so early for this?"

Maria rolls her eyes and pinches Eric's cheek. "Wake up, sleepyhead. Aeon is missing."

"What?" he exclaims, looking around for the first time. "What are we talking about?"

Cornell, who has gone to examine the room, gestures for them to approach. Alucard bends over and picks up a slip of paper laying upon the ground, holding it up to the light and reading it aloud.

_"'Chosen of the Time Wanderer,_

_"To find Aeon, follow your instinct. If you are to find him, we bid you good luck.'"_

Alucard sets down the message just before a sickening wave of dizziness hits him and each of them either collapse utterly or fall to their knees. A flash of white envelopes the entire room, or perhaps just their vision, and suddenly everything is a blur of lush green. Judging by the fact that the only noise nearby is the trickling of a stream and his own breathing, the dhampire assumes they were separated.

_To find Aeon, follow your instinct._

What is that supposed to mean? Who wrote the message?

He decides to think about it later and get moving. He rises to his feet, drawing his sword, and dashes quickly through the undergrowth, tapping into his magic to speed him up. He eventually finds the stream he heard previously and notices that it flows down a hill. He peers down the stream, which flows straight, and realizes that it leads to a beach. The stream must eventually lead to the center of the island, where Aeon must be, unless they hid him on the beach.

Alucard sighs and begins his trek upstream.

~()~

Shanoa stays sitting on her knees, gasping for breath as her vision slowly returns to her. They've been separated, obviously to only have one person find Aeon, and she has absolutely no idea where she is.

Nevertheless, she takes a deep breath and begins climbing a tall tree to attempt to figure out her location.

~()~

Cornell lands on his feet and looks around. Birds chirp in the background and the leaves rustle in the soft breeze. He takes a moment to savor it and considers his options. He can either go find Aeon or wait for someone else to do so and see what happens.

He decides to wait and settles down in the tall limb of a tree.

~()~

Eric lands directly on top of something a lot softer than he expected it to be and hears a squeak of pain.

"Oww! Get off of me, you big pervert!" Maria cries, shoving him off and getting onto her feet. Then she looks around. "Hey, where did everyone else go?"

~()~

Aeon wakes up inside a cabin with the warm aroma of food flooding his nostrils. He tries to sit up but only manages to twitch, and then everything burns again.

"Hold still," an old man's voice murmurs as he places a hand on Aeon's shoulder. "You've obviously been through something terrible."

_I'll say,_ he grumbles mentally, not being able to open his mouth. _What did that necklace do to me?_

"You appeared out of nowhere last night, freezing cold and in terrible pain. I had to take you in. I hope you don't mind."

Aeon shakes his head just slightly and opens his eyes, looking up at the old man. For some reason, the vision in his right eye seems blurrier than usual, and when he blinks in surprise, the old man seems to remember something and hands him a thin, round shard of glass - his spectacle.

As he attaches it to the bridge of his nose, he notices something odd about his hands. They just...don't look the same. And his hair feels almost like it's longer. Finally finding the strength to sit up, he finds that absolutely nothing feels the same. He lets out a breath and rubs his eyes, then looks towards the old man.

"Umm...thank you."

His voice is hoarse, but other than that, it sounds different, too.

The old man, with a balding head and a wispy grey beard, gives him a curt nod and says, "Anything for a lady."

_L-lady? But...I'm a man..._

Aeon finds, upon further inspection, that he really isn't a man. That would explain why his fingers are longer but slimmer, and his hair is longer, brushing against his shoulders and hanging down over his right eye - another reason he couldn't see well. He also finds that a peculiar weight presses on his chest and a blush crosses his face.

The old man apparently thinks that it's because he isn't used to being complimented like that, but Aeon clears his throat and asks, "Sorry to bother you, sir, but...um...can I have a moment, please?"

Yes, that voice is definitely feminine - too feminine to be ignored. As the old man leaves, Aeon finds the nearest mirror and rushes over to it as fast as he can. He finds that his face is now slimmer with rounder cheekbones, and his cheeks are colored the same pink as his lips. Somehow, his clothes have adjusted to fit his thinner, curvier form, which is highly embarrassing, and now have several alterations - major ones, to disguise his identity, no doubt. He notices last the moon necklace hanging around his neck and wishes desperately that he could take it off - but then the old man would be shocked and freak out over it.

_No way. This isn't possible,_ Aeon thinks. He finds that his emotions are suddenly simmering just below the top, and all of a sudden he feels a tear trickle down his cheek.

"It's impossible..." he whispers in that feminine voice that can't possibly be his. "It can't really have happened. Maybe...maybe I'll just wake up and it will turn out to have been a dream. Just...just a dream...?"

Aeon, now a girl, lays back down on the bed and sobs hysterically into the pillow, shivering and drenched in cold sweat.

The old man walks back into the room to ask a question but stops upon seeing her sobbing so hard. He halts immediately and exits the room.

"W-wait," she calls, sitting up and rubbing the tears from her eyes. When the man comes back, she asks, "Where am I?"

"You're on an island. I settled down here years ago after I reached adulthood."

Aeon nods slowly and takes a deep breath, then stands from the bed in the small room and asks him to show her around.

~()~

Alucard hears something rustle in the undergrowth. He waits, scanning over the nearest bushes, and whips around when an enormous wildcat leaps from the brambles, claws aimed at his heart. Caught by surprise, he doesn't react until the beast has landed on his chest and knocked him over, and by then his sword has flown out of his grasp.

Cursing as the wildcat attempts to rip his throat out with its slavering jaws, Alucard barely manages to hold it back with just one arm while the other searches desperately for his sword. His fingers graze the blade, and he hisses much like the cat when it draws blood. Reaching out again, he carefully pulls his sword towards him and attempts to find the hilt. Giving up when the beast manages to drive its fangs into his other arm, he simply picks it up by the blade, ignoring the fierce burn spiking up his arm when he pushes the feline over and thrusts the sword into its neck. The fierce light fades from its eyes, but its teeth still remain driven into Alucard's arm.

Cussing loudly in pain, he releases his sword and attempts to pull open the cat's jaw, but gives up after a few seconds and examines his injured hand. A shallow cut stretches from his thumb to the other side of his palm, and another one across his fingers. Both are bleeding lightly. He turns his attention back to the feline, wincing just at the sight of all the blood dripping from his arm to the ground and staining the grass. He shudders at the stench. Thank goodness there aren't any vampires here; otherwise they would already be attacking.

However, that isn't to say that there aren't any forest beasts that must be able to smell his blood. He tries another attempt at releasing his arm from the pointed fangs and finally gets away. His armor has been torn open, and the bite marks go as deep as an inch or two.

Alucard gets to his feet, picking up his sword with his left hand and putting it into a scabbard with some difficulty. He then transforms into a bat and flies rapidly through the woods, but gives up after a while. He has less blood in that body. Really, it's almost like committing suicide.

Eventually, he finds a suitable tree and dashes up it as fast as he can, settling down in a branch high above what any animal could jump. Luckily, the branch is thick and should support him well while he regains his strength and recovers from this wound.

~()~

Shanoa draws the string of her bow to her cheek, hardly daring to breathe. There it is, an enormous jaguar sitting right underneath her. If she's quiet enough, she may get out of this alive...

She feels the muscle in her right arm tense up and curses, waiting for the cat to move just a few steps farther into her view.

And it does. She releases the arrow without a second thought, and it glides smoothly through the heart of the feline. She lets out a breath of relief when it sputters and dies on the spot, dropping to the ground floor to retrieve her arrow.

After cleaning it off and placing it back into her quiver, she runs. Just a little burst of speed; it's better to get away from there sooner rather than later. So far, she has already seen several jaguars like that one prowling the ground floor, and she considers herself lucky that she hasn't been killed yet. In fact, she's surprised the animals haven't already crowded the dead cat's corpse for food; they all look half-starved. Shanoa wouldn't put them past cannibalism.

Perhaps there is another reason. Perhaps they have found something larger, or maybe bleeding more heavily. She has tried to make sure she sheds as little blood as possible.

Shanoa considers that a likely option, but still continues her sprint through the woods. She doesn't want to be caught on the ground.

~()~

Maria is exasperated. It's getting dark, and she's hungry, not to mention the fact that she's stuck with Eric! Well, all things considered, it's not _that _bad, but he sure does whine a lot!

"Wait!" she exclaims softly. "Be quiet! I heard something!"

Eric shuts his mouth and they automatically step into position facing opposite ways. The forest is crowded with trees and bushes. This isn't a very good place to have to fight.

After a while, Maria calms down and says, "Okay, we're fine."

Eric, however, isn't sure. He grabs her arm and whispers, "No, look over there."

The bushes rustle and a small rabbit leaps out, nose twitching. Eric raises an eyebrow at Maria, who hangs her head in embarrassment.

"Oops?" she mutters softly.

Eric rolls his eyes and they continue carving a path through the forest.

~()~

**A/N: Soooo, tell me how you reacted to the realization of Aeon being a girl...via a review? I love all of you readers so much! And thanks to JK-Chan for all they have done to help out my sister with her own version of this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry for not updating sooner considering my somewhat surprising streak of updates. I have been very busy ever since school got out. In fact, I'm playing an important role in a city play with two practices a week, and with alternating between my two parents every other week, it just makes it more exasperating.**

**Sorry, no more excuses. Get on to your chapter. If you've read Opposite Ways by Stargirl720, then...you probably know some of what's going to happen.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Aeon, Alucard, or Castlevania.**

~()~

Aeon wakes up in the middle of the night with a terrible feeling. She stands from her bed and hurries over to the old man's room, already knowing what happened before she sees it.

And, as she opens the door, she sobs softly.

The old man is dead. He wasn't murdered, no, but he was simply...too old. Aeon discovered yesterday that he was in his late seventies, and had never been active. Perhaps a heart attack was the cause.

Never mind that. The real reason Aeon is upset is because, now, she is all alone in the forest - all alone until one of her Chosen find her. Each of them have a high probability...

_"Stop crying...It isn't your style," _a soft voice belonging to her translucent guide murmurs.

"How would you know? We didn't know each other until you came in, changed me into a girl, and ruined my life."

He appears before her, blocking her view of the old man. _"True...but I have been following you."_

"If I were really a girl, I would think that was creepy."

He chuckles softly. _"Yes...that is what our test is. We want to see if changing a man into a woman changes their personality. At least you know what a girl would think..."_

Aeon rolls her eyes. "If that is the case, you should have done it to Alucard."

Raising a shadowy eyebrow, the being replies, _"Oh? And would you like to see what would have happened, had we done that...?"_

Before Aeon can do anything, the vision overcomes every sense.

~()~

"What have you _done _to me?" Alucard gasps, in a girly form with his sword raised at the figure before him, which also happens to be the very same figure before Aeon. His voice is louder and so girly that Aeon almost can't believe that would have been him.

_"It is merely for my Master's plans...You will be returned to your original form, if all goes well..."_

He freaks out and cries, "What do you mean, 'if all goes well'?! I'm a guy! I can't let anyone see me like this! What have you done to me?!"

_"Patience...Females are more extreme than males. If you learn to control it, you will be - "_

"This is ridiculous! I didn't know that _this _was going to happen. You never told me anything about this!"

The shadow attempts to calm him down. _"Please, Alucard, listen...If we don't succeed with this - "_

He lowers his sword and growls, "I don't want to succeed if these are the terms. I don't _want _to be a part of this. Try as you will, I will not help you!"

_"What about for the sake of your mother...?" _the shadow murmurs, shifting slightly closer to the newly stubborn and annoyed female Alucard, who gasps, eyes widening to more than just the slits they usually are.

"Do not bring my mother into this."

His voice trembles as he turns his head to the ground. The shadowy creature foolishly continues to approach him. Just as he offers a pitch-black hand, Alucard looks up at him and then backs away, crying, "Get away from me. I don't want anything to do with this. Stay away. Please..."

~()~

Aeon gasps and takes a cautious step backwards. Then she shakes her head and whispers, "What would happen after that?"

And, before she knows it, she is being pulled into another vision...or perhaps this one is a dream.

~()~

The ground she stands upon is thick with ash and blood. A heavy fog layers the air, humid and hot. Only a few beams of light penetrate the suffocating, pale grey cloud. The stench of blood permeates throughout everything, nearly as suffocating as the fog. Aeon nearly chokes, even though she knows it's only what _could_ have happened.

Off in the distance, a silhouetted form drops to the ground. Aeon approaches quickly, hurrying over, trying to keep from breathing the acrid stench. She has a vague idea of who it could be...

"What have I done...?"

A soft, pitiful cry, broken by sobs. Aeon's suspicions are confirmed. That voice is still Alucard's, despite how misery has changed it.

This is a battlefield - his inner battlefield, brought to life.

"Alucard...it's...it's okay," Aeon whispers. She crouches down beside him and tries to comfort him somehow, but...

"I can't believe it..."

Aeon blinks back her own tears and reaches out to his cheek, placing her hand softly against it. His skin is warm beneath her touch. "Listen, none of this is your fault. It's just your imagination. This didn't really happen."

A flicker of life comes back into his eyes, but he doesn't focus on her immediately. "Who are you?"

A realization occurs to her. She hesitates. She can't tell him...it would destroy the flow of time...but...

"Find me in the forest. I will tell you then."

When she blinks again, she is back in the cabin, on her knees. The shadowy being has gone, but his voice echoes throughout the room.

_"I would call you foolish...but I assume you knew he was going to find you first anyway."_

~()~

Alucard wakes up with a start, cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He can't quite remember his nightmare, but he does remember one thing: the girl.

_Find me in the forest..._

He doesn't know who it was. He just knows that, amidst whatever horrible nightmare it was this time, she was the one thing that possibly saved him from becoming trapped in there.

But, alas, now that he _has_ woken up, he recognizes the piercing sting of his wounds from the day before; now, a soft light filters in through the trees. He feels glad that he is only half-vampire and cannot be affected by it. An overwhelming sense of peace floods through him, but all of that is interrupted when he takes one look down and leaps off the tree, bending his knees to soften the fall. Still, he catches himself with his right hand - a huge mistake on his part, as it burns again - and stands up, dashing off through the woods.

Now, somehow, he knows exactly where he is going. He just has this feeling that he can't shake. Somehow, he has a connection to whoever this girl is. It doesn't sit right with him, but he finds it bearable.

At long last, he comes to a wooden cabin with smoke billowing from the chimney. His breath hitches. This must be it.

He calms himself and takes a look around, staying cautious as he makes his way to the door.

It opens before he reaches it, however, and out comes a seemingly ageless woman with silver hair that cascades to her shoulders and curls over one eye, barely covering a single lens. She has a pale complexion, and rosy cheeks that just light up even redder. She wears a long white cloak with the hood down.

"Hello," she whispers softly. "You are Alucard?" The way she says this makes it sound more like a statement than a question.

Nevertheless, he nods and she gestures inside. He follows, for some reason, without suspicion; somehow, he knows that he can trust her.

"I believe I asked who you were," Alucard states gently. Her blush fires up again.

"You remember that...? I didn't mean to intrude, but - "

He shakes his head, holding up a hand. "It's fine."

She blinks in surprise, and Alucard interrupts before she can say anything else to disrupt him. "Who are you? Tell me your name."

Knowing he sees right through her, she sighs, then gestures towards a chair. "Sit down."

He remains standing.

"Fine. You're about to get the shock of your life."

Alucard's expression remains passive.

"I am Aeon."

And, just like that, Alucard's eyes widen and he takes a step away from her...him...instinctively. It only takes him a moment, however, to recover his composure from his sudden panic. "How did you...? What happened?"

Aeon's gaze turns to the ground. "I don't know what happened. I don't even know exactly what I am supposed to do in this form. What I do know, however, is that we have to do something, and that you are not allowed to tell anyone about this, no matter the occasion."

The dhampire sighs. Aeon sure is putting a lot of weight on his shoulders. But, if he really needs that...

"Very well. I will take any measure possible to keep them from realizing who you are. How long must we do this?"

_"Two months," _comes a soft reply from behind him. He turns to look over his shoulder, his hand braced on the hilt of his sword, even as he flinches.

Aeon nods. "Two months and I will return to normal. In two months, everything will go back to the way it was before."

The living shadow that Alucard has turned to face adds, _"Only Aeon, however, will remember these events afterward."_

This, too, startles the dhampire. "Why is that? Why must all of us forget this?"

The shadow's expression can only be described as foreboding. _"That I cannot tell you. Many things are better left unknown until they happen. Do you not agree?"_

"How can I agree with a being that is not even human?"

True, the creature is different than anything Alucard has ever seen. It wears a long, elegant, purplish-black robe with drooping sleeves that nearly reach the floor. Glowing blue eyes rest where the head should be but is, instead, a glowing black hole covered with a hood from his robe.

_"Perhaps because you, yourself, are only partially human," _he replies with no emotion in his voice whatsoever. And, without a mouth, there is no way of telling anything. Alucard now understands why most people find him so difficult.

Still, he nods. "You do have a point." He sighs, and then, all of a sudden, his vision blurs and the wound in his forearm stings again. He collapses to the ground, straining to breathe evenly. He vaguely sees a hesitant hand reach towards him, then halt, then draw back.

"What's happening?"

Aeon's voice shakes slightly, and the shadow moves closer to Alucard, answering him.

_"He has lost much blood from this wound..."_ A dark hand gently rests upon Alucard's arm, on which the wound has suddenly reopened and is bleeding excessively. _"We must help him recover... Does the old man have healing supplies somewhere?"_

~()~

**A/N: Aaaand...yeah, that wound is going to be a bother for almost the entire rest of the story. Lol. Anyhow, much thanks to all of those who have read or reviewed...do I have any reviews...?**

***sobs, buries head in pillow and shakes head violently***

**Please review...and thanks to JK-Chan for following.**


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